Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw are among the players currently battling injuries and hoping to be part of Gareth Southgate squad for Euro 2024.
England’s national team coach Gareth Southgate has expressed satisfaction with the progress that Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw are making as Euro 2024 approaches. This is why Southgate included them in the 33-man squad for the 10-day training camp ahead of the tournament.
Speaking before England’s friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina at St James’ Park, Southgate shared some interesting insights.
Southgate said: “Everyone is progressing well, so we’re pleased with the progress they’ve made. Shaw, Maguire, Gordon, none of them will be involved tomorrow. I think Anthony has a good chance of playing on Friday. The other two are a bit more doubtful, but we’ll see how they progress. Tomorrow, Bukayo (Saka) and John Stones will also be absent.”
“John came late and hasn’t worked with us for many days, so it’s better for him to have an individual program over the next few days. Bukayo is okay, he’s progressing well but we want Saka to have extra rest, then Saka will be back in on Friday.”
“Kobbie Mainoo, Kyle Walker, and Phil Foden have not yet linked up with the full squad after the FA Cup final last weekend, while Jude Bellingham will join later because he just won the Champions League with Real Madrid.”
Gareth Southgate jokingly referred to his English stars as ‘liars’ and stated he would never trust his players to be honest when assessing their fitness levels.
Southgate joked: “They’re actually lying. If you’re in a relegation battle, the treatment room will be packed. If you’re in a cup final, it will be empty. Everyone wants to be on the plane, so we have to have the most accurate view.”
It’s clear that Southgate has plenty of choices in his squad, so the selected players must be the fittest. Currently, Shaw and Maguire present the most complicated injury situations, and Southgate needs final assessments before confirming the squad on June 7th.